Quill's Quest
Quill's Quest follows the adventures of Quill Fellow & friends as they delve fearlessly through goblin-infested woods towards the frontier town of Phandalin seeking gold, glory and justice! Main Characters * [[Quill Fellow|'Quill Fellow']]' ' - Kenku Paladin 3 * Ember Rockseeker - Dwarf Cleric 3 * "Rusty" Jim - Human Fighter 3 * Droop - Goblin Expert 2 NPCs * Trym Greenblade - Halfling Rogue (killed by Klarg) RIP * Rockseeker Brothers ** Gundren (captured and sent to Cragmaw Castle) ** Tharden & Nundro (?) * Cragmaw Goblin Tribe ** Klarg (bugbear boss - defeated) **Yeemik (goblin boss - angered) **Mosk (bugbear - defeated) **Droop (goblin - rescued) **Kruk (hobgoblin bounty hunter - let go) **'King Grol' (?) *The Lord's Alliance ** Sildar Hallwinter (killed by Glasstaff, revivable) ** Iarno Albrek AKA Glasstaff (slain by Quill & co.) * Phandalin Locals ** Elmar Barthen (Shopkeeper - Barthen's Provisions) ** Toblen (Innkeeper - Stonehill Inn), Trilena & Pip Stonehill ** Qelline (Trym's Aunt - Alderleaf Farm) & Carp Alderleaf *** Reidoth the Druid (not met - currently in Thundertree) ** Linene Graywind (Merchant - Lionshield Coster) ** Harbin Wester (Townmaster - Townmaster's Hall) ** Sister Garaele (Cleric of Tymora - Shrine of Luck) ** Daran Edermath (Retired Adventurer; Order of the Gauntlet - Edermath Orchard) ** Halia Thornton (Guildmaster - Miner's Exchange) *** Blackbrands (Ex-Redbrands - Laborers/Security) ** Grista (Barkeep - Sleeping Giant) ** Thel (Woodcarver - Murdered by Redbrands) Mirna, Nilsa & Nars Dendrar *Triboar Trail **Agatha (Banshee - Conyberry) **Hamun Kost the Red Wizard (Necromancer - Old Owl Well) *The Black Spider **Redbrand Ruffians (led by Glasstaff) **Cragmaw Goblins (led by King Grol) Locations * Neverwinter ** The Last Post *Thundertree (not visited) * Triboar Trail ** Cragmaw Hideout ** Conyberry *** Agatha's Lair ** Old Owl Well ** Wyvern Tor (not visited) * Phandalin ** Alderleaf Farm ** Barthen's Provisions ** Edermath Orchard ** Lionshield Coster ** Phandalin Miner's Exchange ** Shrine of Luck ** Sister Garaele's Home ** Sleeping Giant ** Stonehill Inn ** Townmaster's Hall ** Tresendar Manor (Redbrand Hideout) ** Woodworker * Crawgmaw Castle (not located) * Wave Echo Cave (not located) Quests * Reclaim Thundertree (Rusty Jim's ancestral home) * Deliver Gundren Rockseeker's supplies to Barthen's Provisions in Phandalin * Rescue Sildar Hallwinter * Find Iarno Albrek * Defeat Glasstaff * Deal with the Redbrands * Recover the stolen Lionshield Coster supplies from the Cragmaw goblin hideout (Linene Graywind) * Ask Agatha of Conyberry about Bowgentle's Book for Sister Garaele * Investigate Old Owl Well for suspicious activities and undead * Deal with the necromancer Hamun Kost (Daran Edermath) * Take care of the Orcs near Wyvern Tor (Harbin Wester) * Discover what happened to Thel Dendrar's (the local woodcarver) family * Escort Mirna Dendrar and her children to the High Road/Neverwinter * Find Mirna's heirloom in the ruins of Thundertree * Talk to Reidoth the Druid in Thundertree (Qelline Alderleaf) * Discover the location of Cragmaw Castle * Rescue Gundren Rockseeker Session Recaps * August 8th 2018 - Chapter 1: "Goblin Ambush" (Day 1-4) ** Ex-mercenaries Quill Fellow (kenku outlander) and Ember Rockseeker (hill dwarf soldier) meet up at The Last Post inn just south of Neverwinter and recruit local legend "Rusty" Jim (human folk hero) and the enigmatic Trym Greenblade (lightfoot halfling criminal) to help deliver a wagon of mining supplies to Ember's cousin Gundren in the frontier town of Phandalin. A few days travel down the High Road passes without issue. But the fourth day, as party steers east along the Triboar Trail, they are ambushed by goblins with sharpened teeth before they can reach their destination. Quill & company defeat the Cragmaw goblins and follow their trail back to the mouth of a cave, avoiding some deadly traps along the way. * April 7th 2019 - Chapter 2: "Cragmaw Cave" (Day 4 cont.) ** Trym scouts ahead; Ember fails at sneaking; and after taking out some goblin guards, Jim tries to befriend some chained-up wolves. The group explores the gobin's hideout and nearly get wiped out by a series of flash floods. Quill knocks out and captures a goblin to interrogate and everyone regroups to heal up outside. They find out that the goblins hate their terrifying bugbear leader, Klarg and wish to help another goblin Yeemik overthrow him to become their new, friendlier leader. Quill and the gang head back into the cave and convince Yeemik that they will help him kill Klarg. In exchange, Yeemik will release their human prisoner, which turns out to be Gundren's friend and bodyguard Sildar Hallwinter. * April 8th 2019 - Chapter 3: "Klarg" (Day 4-5) ** Quill agrees to Yeemik's terms and the crew make their way over to Klarg's area. A pair of goblins ambush the party from behind stalagmites and their ferocious bugbear leader Klarg jumps out from behind supply crates to attack Trym, felling her with a single blow from his huge morning star. Quill, Ember & Jim do their best to take out the two goblins and slowly wittle down Klarg, but the massive bugbear soon takes down Quill as well. Aiming his bow desperately, Jim finally ends Klarg's reign of terror with a fatal arrow to the skull. Ember is able to stabalize Quill before it's too late, but Trym doesn't make it... The group returns to Yeemik and exchanges Klarg's head for Sildar. Yeemik demands gold but Quill refuses to give him any, angering Yeemik into attacking them as they flee. They take their rescued friend Sildar, and the body of Trym and mournfully head back to their hidden ox & cart, far away from the unruly Cragmaw goblins. Sildar tells them how Gundren and his map to the lost ''Wave Echo Cave were taken by the goblins to Cragmaw Castle, to a mysterious figure known as the Black Spider. *May 26th 2019 - Chapter 4: "Phandalin" '(Day 5-6) **Quill Fellow, Ember Rockseeker & Rusty Jim arrive in Phandalin with Sildar Hallwinter, who suggests they head to the Stonehill Inn to get rooms for the night. They meet ''Toblen Stonehill, the innkeeper and his son Pip, who runs around excitedly. Toblen is happy to give the party directions and his son Pip mentions that his friend Carp (Trym's cousin) found a tunnel in the woods, but the Redbrands (a local group of ruffians) almost caught him. Elsa, a gossipy barmaid, mentions that the local orchard keeper Daran Edermath is a retired adventurer. Sildar says he must rest, and find someone named Iarno Albrek -'' a fellow member of ''the Lord's Alliance who went missing in Phandalin - and parts ways with the party amicably. The innkeeper's wife Trilenna warns about the Redbrands kidnapping and murdering some of the local townfolk in broad daylight. Thel Dendrar, a local woodcarver, was killed by the ruffians and now his wife and kids have gone missing too. Quill & co. take the body of their fallen comrade Trym Greenblade to the house of her aunt in Alderleaf Farm. They meet Qelline Alderleaf, a kind halfling woman and her son Carp. Qelline says she will speak to Sister Graele, a local Cleric of Tymora (the goddess of good fortune), to have a burial service held next day and invites the group. Her son Carp gives Quill directions to a secret tunnel where he saw Redbrands smuggling crates and barrels in and out of. Finally the party returns the cart of suppies to Barthen's Provisions and receives payment from Elmar Barthen for its safe delivery and learns that Gundren's brother Nundro & Tharden are apparently camping nearby. The party then heads back to Stonehill Inn to get some rest and plan their next move. *August 31st 2019 - Chapter 5: '"Stifling a Tear" (Day 6 cont.) **Quill & crew wake up at the Stonehill Inn and speak to a couple of its patrons over breakfast. Lanar the old miner talks about Orc Raiders and mentions that the townmaster is looking for folks to deal with them. Quill speaks to the innkeeper Toblen about local shops and is directed to the Lionshield Coster for weapons and armor. Qelline's son Carp stops by to play with Pip and informs the party that Trym's burial will be held later that afternoon. The gang heads over to the Lionshield Coster and speaks to its scrupulous owner, Linene Graywind about the troublesome Redbrands. Linene mentions she's short on supplies and Quill informs her that they saw crates with a blue lion (the symbol of the Lionshield Coster) back at the Cragmaw hideout. Linene thanks them for the information and offers the party 50gp for the return of her supplies. Quill asks if she could get a good deal on gear in exchange for dealing with the Redbrands and returning the supplies and Linene happily agrees, and shows the group her hidden backroom. After purchasing some studded leather armor for Rusty, they head over to Alderleaf Farm to pay their respects to Trym and her family. On the way over, they face one of their greatest challenges yet: picking a bouquet of flowers. At the burial, Qelline and her family and several townsfolk are gathered to pay their respects to Trym. Quill rolls a strength check in order to stifle a tear, and gives a beautiful eulogy about Trym being a caring person and honorable warrior. A few redbrand ruffians show up and start scoffing at Quill's heartfelt speech. They demand money from Qelline and she begs them to leave. Quill starts to insult the Redbrands but they mock Quill and imply that Trym wasn't the good person Quill says she was. Quill tries to lead them away before a fight breaks out, but Rusty sees them drawing their weapons and attacks the ruffians first. Ember takes one out using a Guiding Bolt and Quill uses a Thunderous Smite on another, knocking him out in one hit. The third ruffian books it and escapes into the woods to the east. Quill ties up the two unconscious Redbrands and plans to take them to the Townmaster to imprison them. The Cleric holding the service, Sister Garaele, asks to speak to the group later on at the Shrine of Luck. *September 7th 2019 - Chapter 6: "Good Cop Bad Cop" (Day 6 cont.) **Quill Fellow and his fellows head to the Townmaster's hall with their Redbrand captives and meet the lazy townmaster, ''Harbin Wester. He shrugs off the Redbrand threat and asks the group to focus on the Orc raiders causing trouble near Wyvern Tor instead. He is reluctant to jail the two Redbrands until Sildar Hallwinter shows up and catches up with the party, thanking them for his rescue with 50 gp. When Quill informs Sildar of the Redbrand threat, he offers 200 gp to take care of them and 500 gp to find Crawmaw Castle, rescue Gundren Rockseeker and deal with the cragmaw goblin clan and its leader, King Grol. Quill & Ember play "good cop bad cop" with their prisoners and eventually get one to give up some info. Namely, that the Redbrand's leader is a wizard named Glasstaff. Apparently hte mysterious figure known as the Black Spider gave orders to Glasstaff and sent bugbears to reinforce the Redbrands. Quill, Ember & Jim leave the prisoners locked up at the Townmaster's hall with Sildar and head out to go deal with the Redbrand menace one and for all... *September 21st 2019 - Chapter 7: ''"The Letter" (Day 6 cont.) **Quill, Ember and Jim head into the forest near Tresendar Manor to find the secret entrance that Carp showed them. They have a little trouble finding the spot but run into Carp himself hiding in the trees. The young halfling lad lets them know he saw a Redbrand run into the tunnel a few hours ago, the group thanks him for the intel and convinces their little spy to head back into town. The crew heads into the dirt cave that leads beneath the Manor and follow the tunnel until it opens into a large natural cavern with two bridges spanning a crevasse. Quill checks the southern bridge and finds that it's rigged to fall and goes to check the other bridge which turns out to be safe. The Kenku Paladin uses detect magic and sense a faint necromantic aura eminating from the crevasse, which is unnaturally cold and reeks of rotting flesh. Suddenly Quill hears a voice in their head taunting him over past mistakes that Quill has kept secret; a brother who was accidentally killed in a jealous rage that led to Quill's exile from the Kenku tribe. The voice also demands flesh... Quill does their best to ignore the voice as the party checks the northern chamber and finds nought but crates of basic provisions and 30 beaver pelts. Moving on, they cross the bridge back to the northwest hallway and Quill hears the voice assaulting him again. Ember & Jim are worried but can't see or hear the attacker. Quill overcomes the psychic assault and they head down the stairs of the northwest hallway. They listen at both doors and Ember hears a group of rowdy drunks playing dice games in the room to the south. Quill uses his detect magic spell on the northern door and senses multiple schools of magic but they hear no sounds. They make their way into the most northwestern room of this dungeon complex, which turns out to be a wizard's workshop. A plump black rat scurries under the table and looks at the group curiously, Rusty Jim tries to give it some food but Quill says not to get distracted! The group checks the room and Ember finds an old tome written in Dwarvish. (The journal of an adventurer named Urmon, it describes the history of the Lost Mine of Phandelver and the Forge of Spells. In addition, Urmon records that a magic mace named Lightbringer was commisioned by priests of Lathandar, the god of dawn, from the mages working with the gnomes and dwarves of the Phandelver's Pact. The mace was lost when Wave Echo Cave and it's mine vanished from history.) Otherwise, all they find is basic alchemy equipment and texts for the brewing of some potion. In the next room is a fancy bed and desk, and Rusty Jim's rat friend follows them in. They search the room and find various papers and notes stacked neatly on the desk, mostly consisting of written orders to apothecaries and alchemists in nearby settlements. Among them they find a letter signed with the symbol of the Black Spider that reads: Lord Albrek, My spies in Neverwinter tell me that strangers are due to arrive in Phandalin. They could be working for the dwarves. Capture them if you can, kill them if you must, but don't allow them to upset our plans. See that any dwarven maps in their possession are delivered to me with haste. I'm countin on you, Iarno. Don't disappoint me. ''Suddenly realizing this rat could be a wizard's spy or familiar, they manage to catch and trap it (but not before it bites Rusty Jim!) and take the incriminating letters. They also find at the foot of the bed, an open wooden chest containing a large sum of gold and other valuables. Strangely though, the chest eminates a faint magical aura but contains no magical items within. *September 29th 2019 - Chapter 8: '"The Nothic"' (Day 6 cont.) **Still in the wizard's quarters, Rusty Jim spots a secret door left slightly ajar leading to an empty staircase. Ember finds the next secret door at the top of the stairs and the group finds themselves back in the previously explored storage room just north of the crevasse. They decide to head south and Quill gets ready for another psychic attack, but it is Rusty Jim that begins to yell at some unheard voice this time. They try to ignore it but suddenly a creature with a singular glowing eye and covered in hideous spikes emerges from behind a pillar. Ember recognizes it as a Nothic: a once humanoid wizard cursed by dark magic and transformed into an insane flesh-seeking, mind-reading monster. Quill tries to communicate with it, but it seems to be on a mission to not let the party escape. At the end of the southern hallway is a dead end, and the Nothic begins to persue them towards it. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the group sees no choice but to defend themselves. After a hard fought battle in which Quill accidentally throws his spear into the crevasse, the insane Nothic is finally defeated. Quill finds another secret door at the end of the hallway and they head into the next room, which contains a large cistern, two flights of stairs leading upstairs and a couple doors leading west and north. They decide to check some of the barrels in the room which mostly contain fresh food items and continue through the northern door. The next area is a somber, dusty hallway. At the other end is a large set of double doors, sheathed in copper plate, now green with age, and adorned with a relief carving of a mournful angel. Quill bravely marches to the other side but halfway across, falls 20 feet into a dirt pit as the tiles suddenly give out. Jim and Ember make their way to other side and help Quill out of the trap before heading through the large double doors. Quill checks their bag to make sure nothing broke in the fall and discovers that the trapped rat has vanished without a trace. The next area is an old family crypt filled with 3 large stone sarchophagi and a human skeleton leaning against each one. Quill uses her divine sense to determine that the skeletons are undead and they decide to attack the unholy creatures. Quill is knocked out and nearly killed in the battle, and Ember loses her grip on her warhammer and resorts to punching skeletons in the face, but they manage to put the animated corpses to rest for good. *October 5th 2019 - Chapter 9: '"Hostage Negotiations"' (Day 6 cont.) **Starting in the Tresendar crypt, the team heads through the northern doorway and explores the hallway there. They find a door on the north-east side with a small iron grate that allows them to see inside. The room is lined with racks of weapons and a dozen dirty red cloaks hang from hooks by the door. Unfortunately the door is locked, and without a thief to pick it, and not wanting to make too much noise, they head back over to the crypt and take a listen at the eastern door. Ember thinks she hears hushed voices within and the party prepares for battle. Quill grabs a skull from one of the skeletons hoping to scare whoever is inside, and does so, but when it turns out a Redbrand has taken a woman hostage and another shuts the door behind them, the group comply with their demands to drop their weapons. While pretending to walk into the cell, Quill furtively grabs the hostage-taker's sword. He lashes out at Quill, letting go of his hostage in the process. Ember & Quill encourage the prisoners to fight back by throwing whatever they can and Rusty Jim grabs his greatsword off the floor as the Redbrand hiding in the corner slashes at him wildly. The young woman in the northern cell manages to throw a bucket at one of the Redbrands, mostly damaging his ego, and the woman who was taken hostage uses her chains to whip her captor in the face, dealing significant damage. The ruffian responds with a sword that pierces right through her chest and she crumples to the floor. Her children cry out in horror and Ember quickly casts Spare the Dying, praying to the dwarven god Marthammor Duin to save her life. Rusty Jim fights bravely but is taken down by a Redbrand short sword that manages to pierce his fancy new armour. Ember & Quill dispatch the red-cloaked hostage taker and the other ruffian flees south, back through the trapped hallway. Healing potions are taken and administered to Jim, and Quill chases and attacks the escapee, leaping across the open pit, back towards the room with cistern. With Quill just out of reach of the Redbrand runner and Ember & Jim not far behind, the injured ruffian bursts through the door, revealing three more Redbrands on the other side, preparing for battle... *October 6th 2019 - Chapter 10: '"Captured"' (Day 6-7) **Four Redbrands pour out of the make-shift barracks like angry hornets. Quill grabs a huge barrel and blocks their exit, but they push the barrels back, cornering Quill in the process. Ember & Rusty Jim are quick to arrive on the scene and Ember goes to town with her warhammer while Jim fires arrow after arrow, making his way to the other side of the cistern in order to flank their foes. The ruffian's blades mostly bounce off Ember & Quill's armour and the three heroes manage to eliminate another Redbrand (that's 4 total for those keeping track at home!). But the three remaining ruffians don't back down and continue their assault, knocking out Quill & Ember with a few lucky hits from a halfling Redbrand's blade. With his friends bleeding out on the floor in front of him, and three bloodthirsty criminals chasing after him, Rusty decides the wisest course of action is to run. Remembering that the Redbrands were given orders to capture - not kill - the party if possible, he desperately hopes that by fleeing, he can save their lives... He runs back into Phandalin towards the Townmaster's Hall searching for their friend and ally, Sildar Hallwinter. 'Fade to black...' Ember & Quill awaken, bruised and bloodied, in the northern jail cell of the Tresendar manor. The human prisoners and guards they encountered earlier are nowhere to be seen and all that remains is a dry patch of blood on the floor. Their arms and equipment missing, the two friends & ex-mercenaries sit in rags, chained to the nearby wall. A black bearded human wizard matching Sildar's description of ''Iarno Albrek walks into the room and apologizes to his "guests" for their inhospitable treatment. He carries with him a staff made of glass and puts on airs of gentility and courteous manners. Glasstaff tells Ember & Quill that the woman and her children they attempted to rescue have been sold to slavers, and says that he has orders to capture any friends of Gundren Rockseeker and deliver them to the Black Spider, showing them the letter to Iarno Albrek that stated as much. The wizard politely asks Ember & Quill for information regarding the lost Wave Echo Cave in exchange for information on their missing friend, but without any info to barter with, they are left to wonder where Rusty Jim could be. Before leaving, Glasstaff explains that he would have liked to have met the group earlier, but he had business to attend to in Phandalin, "dealing" with his old troublesome colleague Sildar Hallwinter. *October 12th 2019 - Chapter 11: "Lucky Escape" (Day 7-8) **Ember & Quill, chained up in a filthy Redbrand prison cell, lament their terrible situation. Wondering where Rusty Jim might be, they contemplate how they will save their captured friend Gundren Rockseeker now that they've been captured themselves. A bugbear named Mosk, wearing a jeweled eye patch, and his two bugbear cronies enter the room, carrying barrels of food and dragging with them a terrified little goblin named Droop. Mosk taunts the prisoners and bullies his goblin "pet" Droop mercilessly, who faints at the sight of Ember & Quill. The bugbears start complaining about their "disgusting human" rations and Quill mentions that there are plenty of deer in the woods around the manor, if they want some fresh meat. Mosk begins to salivate at the idea of some tasty venison and sends his cronies out to hunt for some deer in the nearby forest while he keeps an eye on the prisoners. Quill & Ember pretend to get into a fight, much to Mosk's amusement, and convinces their captor that weapons would make the fight much more interesting. The bugbear tells Droop to hand Ember his short sword, and Ember pretends to choke Quill out and goes to "finish him" with the blade. Mosk decides the fight has gone far enough and steps in to stop his prisoners. Just then, the door creaks open and Rusty Jim appears, with the Cleric of Tymora - Sister Garaele - just behind him. Jim lets loose a volley of arrows before drawing his greatsword and Sister Garaele curses the bugbear and hands Quill a mace. With luck on their side, the heroes take down the bugbear boss and collect his key and fancy eyepatch. Jim & Garaele explain that their ally Sildar has been killed by the Redbrands and that Glasstaff needs to be stopped before he can cause any more harm to the townspeople. Quill slings the unconscious Droop over a shoulder and they head to the armory to find their siezed equipment. Exiting the armory, Jim spots another secret door leading back to northern storage room and they silently make their way over to Glasstaff's chambers, aided by a blessing of Tymora. Caught by surprise at his writing desk, Iarno Albrek briefly tries to parley, and casts spell after spell attempting to escape, but is taken down quickly and without mercy by Quill and the crew. They take the dead wizard's glass staff, their stolen treasure, and Droop, and exit the manor, heading back to Sister Garaele's house to get some much needed rest. *October 20th 2019 - Chapter 12: "Bath Time" (Day 8 cont.) **The party awakens in Sister Garaele's home, fully healed and well-rested. The young Cleric of Tymora makes oatmeal for everyone and speaks to Jim in elven for a little while. Quill offers Droop some salted meat and the terrified goblin cautiously takes some between fainting-spells. Garaele asks for some help dealing with a banshee named Agatha, who knows nearly everything about the area, past and future. She wants the group to go to Conyberry and ask her a question ("What is the location of Bowgentle's spellbook") in return for a jeweled silver comb she gives them to present as a gift. As payment, she offers the party three potions of healing and any information she can provide. Droop starts stinking the place up so Quill offers to bathe him and gets to work, teaching the smelly goblin a few new words along the way like "good" and "nice". A few layers of dirt later, they head to Barthen's Provisions to get Droop some fresh new traveler's clothes and a disguise kit to help him not stand out too much. Quill buys some thieve's tools and a couple more bars of soap just in case and they head over to Edermath Orchard to speak to Garaele's neighbor, Daran. *October 26th 2019 - Chapter 13: "The Black Hawk" (Day 8 cont.) **On their way over to Edermath Orchard, Quill hears a bird crying out for help. Running over to investigate, they discover a small black hawk struggling to escape a spider's web. Quill somehow understands its cries and cuts the little raptor free. It thanks them with a squawk and flies off towards Tresendar manor, as Quill is left to ponder his newfound ability to speak to and understand birds. With Droop convincingly disguised as a halfling, they arrive at the orchard and meet Daran, a silver-haired half-elf well over 100 years old. He is excited to meet a group of adventurers and praises them for defeating Glasstaff. He reveals he is a member of the Order of the Gauntlet and offers his help in dealing with the rest of the Redbrands, and they head back to Tresendar manor to see if any foes remain. Taking their time to carefully clear the hideout, they discover it's been ransacked in a hurry, with only a few bedframes, tables and overturned chairs remaining. Daran suggests searching the crevasse for bodies of missing townsfolk and Ember & Jim climb down and find the gnawed corpse of the missing woodcarver Thel Dendrar, along with a chest hidden by the Nothic in a small cubby hole. The chest contains some potions and other treasure, along with a beautiful sword in a silver-chased scabbard. The magical longsword is inscribed with the name "Talon" and the hilt is worked into a bird of prey with outspread wings (Talon once belonged to a great knight named Aldith Tresendar, known as the Black Hawk. Sir Aldith died fighting off the orcs that attacked Phandalin centuries ago). Having cleared out the former Redbrand hideout, Daran and the crew stops by Alderleaf Farm to talk to their friend Qelline. She mentions her druid buddy Reidoth left for Thundertree recently, and that he knows a great deal about the area if they ever need directions. They ask their little spy-in-training Carp if he's seen anything suspicious lately and he mentions he saw Sister Garaele giving gold to some bad guys in red cloaks the night before. Continuing their quest to deal with the Redbrands for good, they head over to the Sleeping Giant taphouse, where Grista the dwarf barkeep is busy dealing with a group of the rowdy ruffians. Daran, Ember, Jim & Quill try intimidating the troublemakers into a peaceful surrender but they aren't backing down. A brutal melee is seconds from sparking when Halia Thornton, guildmaster of the local Miner's Exchange, shows up and begs for a truce. She suggests that the Redbrands can be put to work rebuilding Phandalin instead of being killed or imprisoned, and Quill and co. reluctantly agree and allow the Redbrands to leave unharmed. They head over to the Miner's Exchange where the former brigands line up to sign contracts offering fair wages in exchange for manual labor; Halia plans to have them rebuild Tresendar manor. She asks the crew if they have any information regarding Glasstaff's activities or correspondances and Quill mentions the letter from the Black Spider, but leaves out any details about the Rockseeker brothers or Wave Echo Cave. Halia thanks them for dealing with Glasstaff and allowing for a peaceful resolution. Having dealt with the Redbrands, they head back to Sister Garaele's house and Quill questions her a bit about her shady behaviour. She remains secretive but says she only did what had to be done to protect the locals and insists that she will be able to explain everything when they have completed her task. Quill takes her at her word for now and heads back to Daran's orchard to enjoy some pie and cider and listen to the retired adventurer's tales. He mentions prospectors in the hills northeast of Phandalin have seen someone digging around the ruins known as Old Owl Well and more disturbingly, has heard reports of people being chased away from the area by undead. He asks that they go investigate the ruin, about 20 miles southeast of Conyberry, and explains it is an ancient watchtower where dangerous magic might lay dormant. Finally, they head back to Stonehill Inn and enjoy a round of free drinks and free rooms from the gracious innkeeper Toblen, who thanks them for dealing with the Redbrand menace. Satisfied that Phandalin is safe (for now), they prepare for a good night's rest and the journey ahead. *November 2nd 2019 - Chapter 14: "Triboar Trail Tribulations" (Day 9-14) **The crew gets up and does their last preperations before heading out on the treacherous Triboar Trail towards Conyberry. Jim stocks up on arrows and Quill buys Droop a fancy new shield, leather armor, adventurer's pack and dagger (though he holds onto the dagger for now, until the time is right). They convince the armourer, Linene Graywind, that the disguised goblin is actually a traumatized ex-slave. Two days of travel pass and besides some strange noises heard at night during Quill & Droop's watch, they reach the edge of Conyberry without incident. On the third day they arrive in the ruined settlement and are ambushed by a group of ruthless hobgoblin bounty hunters. After a tough fight (in which Droop is given his dagger and manages to not faint), the last of the ambushers surrenders and tells Quill they had orders to kill a bird-person matching his description. The hobgoblin - Kruk - refuses to offer any further information, but acts respectfully and they decide to let him go on the condition that he not conspire to attack them again. Eventually they find the trail that leads to Agatha's lair and Quill & Rusty Jim put away their weapons and head inside the banshee's shelter. The kenku paladin calls out Agatha's name and an undead elven woman materializes before them, demanding to know their business and promising death to insolent mortals. Quill compliments Agatha and offers Sister Garaele's silver comb, which the banshee happily takes and begins to brush her spectral hair with. She offers to answer any one question and Quill asks about the location of Bowgentle's spellbook, to which she explains that she "traded it a necromancer named Tsernoth from the city of Iriaebor more than a hundred years ago" and doesn't know what become of it afterward. Quill thanks the banshee, who vanishes along with the comb, and they leave, heading back into Conyberry. They manage to find a ruined building with all four of its walls still standing and camp there for the night. The next day they head southeast toward Old Owl Well and discover a colorful tent set up within the ruined walls of the ancient watchtower. A dozen zombies begin shambling out of the ruins and the party sets to work defeating the horde of undead. A few moments later, a red-robed figure with strange tattoos emerges from the tent demanding to know what's going on. He halts the zombie attackers and invites the party into his tent to speak peacefully about matters. He introduces himself as Hamun Kost, and Quill recognizes him as a necromancer belonging to the order known as the Red Wizards of Thay. He is tight-lipped about the reason for his presence in the area, but offers information and magical items (in the form of a ring of protection) if the party were to help him in some matters. Namely, dealing with the nearby orcs. Ember, Jim & Quill all feel uneasy about helping Hamun and decide to head back to Phandalin with the information they have already acquired. They find a spot far away from the tower to sleep for the night and the next day head back north and then west along the Triboar trail. On the way, they spot an ogre in the distance looking for travelers to acost and decide to ambush the giant before it can attack any more innocents. Using his superior range and deadly aim, Rusty Jim baits the ogre from afar and nails him with arrow after arrow until it charges into Ember & Quill's range. Droop faints, Quill slashes at the gigantic brute and Ember sears it with a sacred flame, felling it before it can do any damage. Jim hacks off one of the ogre's toe to take as a trophy and they make their way a bit further down the trail to camp for the night, about a day's march northeast Phandalin. Droop & Quill begin their first watch in front of the campfire, when they hear the sound of tiny leather wings flapping in the night and are suddenly beset by a swarm of blood-thirsty stirges. *November 9th 2019 - Chapter 15: "Blackbrands" (Day 14-15) **... Category:Shubert's Campaigns Category:Dungeons & Dragons 5E __NOEDITSECTION__